Syberry

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a neurocognitive psychometric research and development company. We build software that improves brain function in the context of driving a car. Our training improves people’s visual and situational awareness while driving. I’m the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Syberry?

We had a downloadable driving simulator. It was a complicated software in that it measured response times to a 30th of a second, so it couldn’t rely on an internet connection and really needed to reside on a computer. 

It was a downloaded product for years, but the technology improved to where we could have an online one, and that’s what Syberry worked on with us. We developed the initial version ourselves, but changing its entire architecture would've been a challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Syberry first developed an online version of our teen product, followed by the one for adults. We’re developing them as web apps for now. We also plan to develop an awareness course in the form of a native mobile app.

It works on all Chromebooks, but getting it to run on iPads is a challenge, particularly since they’ve gone away from the mouse. There are also limitations around screen sizes and how a driving simulator will appear on an iPhone screen, for example.

The database part is also complex, given that we measure response times and accuracy, and we collect pre- and post-data. We use that granular data both to make our product better and to develop predictive algorithms for the insurance companies so that they can improve their pricing models.

Similarly to the telematics in a car, for measuring driving behavior, we measure the driver’s ability to avoid a crash. That’s a whole different metric than how the car is being driven.

What is the team composition?

They have a team consisting of a project manager and at least two engineers.

How much have you invested with them?

The total spend so far is a bit below $200,000, and we’ll probably invest another $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Syberry in January 2019. We’re finishing our third project with them, and we have two more lined up. We went live with the adult driver program just this week, and we’re still tweaking it and the teen version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They haven’t been perfect, but we’re somewhere between satisfied and very satisfied. With any software project, there will be things that impact the customer experience. It can be either our fault, a combination between us and Syberry, or just Syberry’s. 

We’ve had all of those, but they’ve been responsive when making mistakes. They’re a good company all in all, and we’re going to continue working with them. The best thing I can say is that the software works. It’s not flawless, but our customer experience has by and large been improved by adding online capabilities. 

Around 90% of users are opting for the online version now, versus the downloadable one. We had a couple of hiccups where people couldn’t log in, but Syberry found and resolved the problem in about six hours. We work on this 24/7 with our own tech support, so we notice issues like this right away. 

That was a six-hour downtime that could’ve been avoided, but being able to find and diagnose the problem so quickly was appreciated. Syberry realized immediately that it was on their side of the fence and they needed to jump on it.

They’re dedicated and responsive, and I’m sure they were working until 1–2 a.m. their time in order to fix our problem by noon. They pulled an all-nighter to fix our problem, and that’s something we don’t find every day.

How did Syberry perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform really well. We have meetings twice a week with the team and once a week with their CIO. I attend those meetings about half the time, so that I can watch how their project managers deal with our people and vice versa.

We have really good communication. We’ve had a couple of project managers across the collaboration with Syberry, and they’ve both been good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver a good product for the price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A little more attention to detail would be nice, but I don’t know how practical that would be in the bigger scope. I understand software development from a conceptual standpoint, so I do cut them a break when they make a mistake. 

We’ve been able to build a team where people don’t blame each other when something goes awry, but instead, come together and fix it. That’s how our team works with theirs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be very articulate in their specifications and know what outcomes they want going into it. Syberry does a great job if given articulate direction, and they’re also good at suggesting alternate approaches and technologies. If they understand what success looks like in the end, they’ll do a good job.

We went into this project with a lot of information. As such, we’ve had a pretty good experience. It’s been a challenge for both parties because we have a unique and very technical product.